Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 12:55 pm Post subject: How many are still building Starduster Aircraft

I am trying to revive this site, and plan on posting on a regular basis, so those that are still here and stop by once in a while, lets see if we can get some input an get some questions and answers going. Dave_________________Dave Baxter
Starduster History

Dave,
Well, I can't say that I'm building a Starduster, but I'm still working on one.

Most of my "work" lately is simply flying the airplane, but the condition inspection and occasional upgrades still require turning wrenches, and for sure the airplane is getting used.

Next project is to finally install post-cooler ducting on the oil cooler. I have plenty of air ducted to the cooler, but need an exit duct and moveable door to control the exit. Otherwise it's too cool in winter and definitely too hot in summer.
tw

Hate to say it but on the biplane forums it automatically resizes images, used to be limited what you can load and now I just choose the pic and not worry about resizing. When you open a photos with most simple viewing software you usually can save it in a smaller format, just remember to specify the format they accept, jpg.

Thanks Bruce. I almost hate to cover them. I really like all the symmetry in them. But they will look a lot better at 1,000 feet altitude with me right behind them!

I do have a set of Hatz ribs I made a looong time ago that I am going to put on Lowes 1x4s for spars and hang over the island in the kitchen for a suspended pot hangar thingie. My wife thought that would be pretty cool. Then I can study a wing while having having breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Steve H_________________SA100 rebuild in progress

Last edited by Steve H on Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:45 am; edited 1 time in total

Got the engine apart right now, thought it would be good to go with a little wok, but had one spalled lifer that took out the cam so with it spit apart am collecting parts , and is going to take more time and of course more money.. Dave_________________Dave Baxter
Starduster History

I made some progress on my wrecked SA-100 this weekend... ran the engine for the first time since the crash, drained the oil and put in preservative oil, ran it again, put in desiccant plugs to hopefully preserve it until the airframe is repaired. Then finished putting the raised floor in the fabric shed where the plane is stored which will hopefully keep the moisture down and halt any further deterioration.

Steve, it looks like your wings have a metal trailing edge? Same as mine, though I believe the plans show a wood trailing edge? Though mine has metal ribs too, I'll have to make a few new ones to replace the crumpled ones.

Yes, my wings have the metal trailing edges and are as specified in the plans. The plans call for 7/16 x .029 tubing flattened to get the oval shape.

The plans also show the ailerons as having the same tubing as the wing, but my ailerons have aluminum trailing edges. The trailing edges on Dave's (starduster history) ailerons SA-100 are wood. It looks like his top wing had aluminum trailing edges before he put ailerons in them, but has changed to wood in the short sections inboard of the ailerons.

I bought a set of plans from Aircraft Spruce and they have been really helpful in making repairs.